If you follow me on Instagram you already saw that I finished my Delphos quite some time ago. I just hadn’t had the time to write a blog post about it.
But today I finally can show you how my Fortuny gown came to life!
First pleating tests
The first technique I tested was really simple. I used a running stitch to create somewhat regular pleats. To secure it I wrapped thread around the fabric and applied heat.
And the result was pretty ugly. The pleats were not regular enough and the worst part was, that you could see the holes where the thread went through the fabric.
I saw some detailed photographs of real Delphos gowns and you cannot see those holes so it definitley was not used in creating the pleats.
The second try was made with twisting the fabric super tight and securing it with thread again. The result was not good at all and again very irregular. But I’m pretty sure the House of Fortuny uses exactly this technique to create their silk scarves nowadays. And if you ask me, ther look pretty cheap.
And then I had to put on my thinking hat which took months to be honest. But one day I remembered that I had a teacher in school who was very into japanese dying and pleating methods. I knew that Mariano Fortuny and his wife got their fabrics from japan so I tried to find a connection and I found one! There is a dying/pleating technique named ‚Arashi Shibori‘. And this is exactly how I made my Fortuny dress.
But before pleating my fabric I had to buy my fabric and also dye it. I bought a super light silk habotai with a weigth of 6 momme and dyed it with a fabric dye from Kreul. The gold fabric paint is also from them.
My glass beads were custom made for me with Murano glass rods and real gold leaf.
So let’s start pleating!
What do you need?
4 lengths of fabric (shoulder to desired length + seam allowance)
1 PVC pipe with a diameter of at least 20 cm, which is at least as long as the fabric.
2 rolls of thin but strong crochet thread
some Tixo
sewing needle + thread
Spray starch (500ml water, 1 tbsp rice flour boiled up and a good shot of cheap vodka added at the end so it doesn’t start to ferment immediately)
Hot water with a dash of vinegar
Step 1:
The very first thing I did was to wind my fabric panels onto the roll with the right side of the fabric facing inwards and the finished hem facing outwards. It is important that the hem runs vertically along the roll.
I also used some Tixo to stick the fabric onto the pipe and used a lot of pins to secure the fabric on itself. It doesn’t have to be super tight, but it shouldn’t be too loose either.
Step 2:
I then attached my crochet yarn with two stitches at the end point of the hem and then its time to get a ‚Drehwurm‘:
You start to wind the crochet yarn around the fabric at a maximum distance of 10 mm. I roughly orientated myself at 8 mm, so if it got a little more or less, it was not a big deal.
Once you have wrapped the yarn completely around the fabric, you sew the end down again with two stitches at the bottom.
Step 3:
Using normal sewing thread, sew the first and last 2-3 rows in place with large stitches all the way around to secure the rows because they will be under a lot of stress in the next step.
After doing this you vertically sew the crochet yarn onto the fabric so that the rows can’t slip so much. I tried it without sewing it down and it was so uneven that I had to open it all up again. .
Step 4:
Now I started pushing the fabric together. It’s important to work slowly and as evenly as possible. I started pushing the fabric from top to bottom and when it got really hard I pushed the fabric up from the bottom as well. If rows were obviously very out of place, I carefully pulled the folds into shape with my fingers and a pin. At the end I tied a twill tape above and below the pleats to prevent the ends of the fabric from slipping away.
Very important: Now remove the vertical securing seams!
Step 5:
Put the tube in the bathtub and wet everything but preferebly not yourself as I did by accident.
I then poured hot water with a dash of vinegar over the fabric and let it drip off briefly. And then I sprayed on my spray starch. I can’t tell you how much it really was, I just sprayed until everything was covered.
And then it was a case of waiting. The tube stood in the warm bathroom right next to the heating and was allowed to dry there for at least 24 hours.
Step 6:
Once the fabric was dry, I used the edge of the hot iron to press these grooves into the fabric. After that, I simply removed the remaining securing seams and the crochet thread (Hello Drehwurm, my old friend) and then I pulled the fabric off with gentle force. This was a very exciting experience, because it was somehow firm and soft at the same time and made a very dusty sound.
And voila: A Fortuny panel is finished.
And here are all my Fortuny panels. I just LOVE how they looked.
Making a Fortuny belt
The belt was a quick and dirty project.
I printed out a real Fortuny pattern that I liked and used it to make a template. To do that I took a plastic sheet and cut out the stencil with a a scalpel. And kids: these things are sharp! Don’t cut yourself, I already did that for all of us.
After successfully cutting out the rest of the template I used a a leftover piece of my silk and applied the fabric paint with a sponge.
After letting it dry overnight I fused two layers of strong cotton together with an adheisive fleece and covered that with my printed fabric. I added two hand sewn loops and to glass beads as a closure and also sewed on two hidden hooks and eyes to distribute the pressure better, since the silk is so thin.
Finishing the dress
And then all what was left to do was sewing together the panels. Sadly I didn’t take pictures of this but I just sewed the selvedges together by machine. The pleats on the shoulders were secured by threading them on some strong sewing thread.
and then I sewed on the silk string while threading on the glass beads. They stay where they are because the string is completley sewn onto the fabric. At the end I connected the shoulders with the beads. And then suddenly I was done.
